2024 Annual Report

A MESSAGE FROM COURT EXECUTIVE OFFICER ANABEL Z. ROMERO

Each year, our court presents this annual report to reflect on our collective impact on the residents of San Bernardino County. The milestones of 2024 continued to mark a transformative period for our court. We prioritized our greatest asset—our people. For the first time, we closed a large vacancy gap that had persisted since the pandemic. By filling critical vacancies and strengthening our workforce, we continued to improve court services for the community we serve. In alignment with our Strategic Plan of being an employer of choice, we will continue to invest in staff development to strengthen our collective knowledge. We all work towards one mission: to serve the public through access to justice. Each one of our dedicated staff drives day-to-day operations and focuses on a multitude of initiatives to advance our court . This report highlights these initiatives, though it is not all-inclusive. Each unit contributes to our mission from the moment we open our doors to the moment we close them. In 2024, we reintroduced critical training programs, launched development opportunities, and restarted leadership training initiatives. We also hosted a court wide leadership summit that enhanced our leadership team's knowledge of employee engagement, project management, and modernizing the court experience. Additionally, we focused on enhancing the court user's experience by leveraging innovation and technology . Our commitment to "bringing the right services to the right places" guided our continued expansion of court services and technology, helping ensure that justice is available, efficient, and equitable.

As we reflect on the progress made, we remain grounded in our mission to protect access to justice for our court users and continue to invest in our employees. The dedication of our 103 judicial officers and more than 1,100 staff members has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of our achievements, and we are deeply grateful for their unwavering commitment to public service. While FY 24-25 introduced budget reductions impacting our court, our leadership’s top priorities remained service to the community and our court staff . As we look to the year ahead, we will continue to monitor the financial climate affecting the judicial branch and make prudent decisions to mitigate impacts to court users. Understanding that without stable and equitable funding, our mission to provide access to justice and protect constitutional rights is in jeopardy. It is an honor to serve this community, and we look forward to continuing this important work alongside our judicial officers, staff, and justice partners as we strive to meet the growing needs of San Bernardino County.

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